Ma's company, Alibaba, makes him a pretty controversial figure. Alibaba is China's largest e-commerce company but has been accused of not doing enough to stop counterfeiters that use the site to sell their goods. Alibaba was also basically booted out of the International AntiCounterfeiting Coalition after companies quit in protest of its inclusion.

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White House promises nothing shady went down in Jack Ma meeting

NEW YORK, NY - OCTOBER 16, 2014: Alibaba Group founder and Executive Chairman Jack Ma speaks after accepting the Game Changer of the Year award at the Asia Game Changer Awards, hosted by the Asia Society, on October 16, 2014 at the United Nations in New York, NY. Ma, China's richest man, was one of several award winners, including a Pritzker Prize winning architect (Shigeru Ban), an Academy Award winner (Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy), and this year's Noble Peace Prize winner, Malala Yousafzai. (Photo by Bryan Thomas/Getty Images)

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The White House promises nothing untoward is going on. The president and Ma appeared onstage at the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation meeting last year, and the president told Ma to stop by the White House if he were ever in town.

Though no details of what the men talked about have been revealed yet, the White House says they have "a number of common interests," including climate change and the international economy.

Obama's press secretary also pointed to Ma's name on the White House visitor's log as proof there isn't anything shady going on.